§47-16-4. Requirements for conduct of agency. (a) License -- No person, firm, corporation or association
shall conduct within this state a collection agency without
having first applied for and obtained a business franchise
registration certificate pursuant to section two, article twelve,
chapter eleven of this code, nor shall any person, firm,
corporation or association establish or operate a collection
agency or the business of a collection agency, unless such
person, firm, corporation or association maintains an office
within the state of West Virginia. The business franchise
registration certificate shall be deemed the collection agency's
license. A license is required for each collection agency,
including each principal office and all branch offices thereof.

(b) Bond -- Each applicant shall file with the commissioner
a continuing surety bond executed by a corporation which is
licensed to transact the business of fidelity and surety
insurance in the state of West Virginia to run concurrently with
the registration tax period, which bond must be filed with, and
approved by, said commissioner before the license herein provided
may be issued. A separate bond shall be filed for each
collection agency including each principal office and all branch
offices thereof. Each bond shall be in the amount of five
thousand dollars payable to the state of West Virginia, and
conditioned that any such person will pay all damages to the
state or a private person resulting from any unlawful act or
action by such person or his or its agent in connection with the
conduct of the business of the collection agency. This continuing bond shall be filed with the tax commissioner.

An action may be brought in any court of competent
jurisdiction upon the bond by any person to whom the licensee
fails to account and pay as set forth in such bond. The aggregate
liability of the surety for all breaches of the condition of the
bond shall not exceed the sum of such bond.

Upon entering judgment for the prevailing party in any
action on the bond required by this article, the court shall
include in the judgment, reasonable compensation for the services
of such party's attorney in the action.

The license of any licensee shall be void upon termination
of the bond of the surety company, unless, prior to such
termination, a new bond has been filed with the commissioner.

Should the license of any surety company to transact
business in this state be terminated, all bonds given pursuant to
this article upon which such company is surety shall thereupon be
suspended, and the commissioner shall immediately notify each
affected licensee of such suspension and require that a new bond
be filed. This notice shall be by registered or certified mail,
return receipt requested, and shall be addressed to the licensee
at his or its principal place of business as shown by the
commissioner's records. The failure of any licensee to file a
bond with new or additional surety within thirty days after being
advised in writing by the commissioner of the necessity to do so
shall be cause for the commissioner to revoke the license.

(c) Record Keeping -- Each collection agency licensed to
operate in this state shall keep a record of all sums collected by such agency and of all disbursements made by such agency, and
shall maintain or make available all such records and all records
as to customers' funds at such agency's principal place of
business within this state. Each collection agency shall
maintain records of collections for and payments to customers for
a period of six years from the date of last entry therein.

No collection agency, nor any employee thereof, shall
intentionally make a false entry in any such collection agency
record nor intentionally mutilate, destroy or otherwise dispose
of any such record within the time limits provided in this
section. Such records shall at all times be open for inspection
by the commissioner, or his duly appointed representative.

No licensee shall commingle the money of collection agency
customers with other moneys, but shall maintain a separate trust
account in a bank for customers' funds.

Each collection agency shall, within a period of thirty days
after the close of each and every calendar month, pay to such
agency's customers the net proceeds due on all collections made
during the preceding calendar month. When the net proceeds due
the customer are less than five dollars at the end of any
calendar month, the collection agency may defer for a period not
to exceed ninety days the payment of said proceeds, if monthly
statements are mailed or delivered to the customer.